Report: The Society's Change of Name

REPORT
T H E SOCIETY'S C H A N G E O F N A ME
H . A R N O L D BARTON
At its annual meeting on 9 April 1983, the Swedish Pioneer
Historical Society celebrated its thirty-fifth anniversary and
announced that its name would henceforward be the
S W E D I S H - A M E R I C A N HISTORICAL SOCIETY. This matter had long
been under consideration. In January 1982 the S w e d i s h P i o n e er
H i s t o r i c a l Q u a r t e r l y became the S w e d i s h - A m e r i c a n H i s t o r i c a l
Q u a r t e r l y , which has been well received. In September 1982,
the Board of Directors voted to propose to the membership an
amendment to the Society's constitution changing its name,
which was done by mail ballot prior to this year's annual
meeting.
One does not change an old and established name lightly, but
it had long been evident that ours did not adequately describe
our scope and purpose to the outside world, thus hampering our
effectiveness. The name, Swedish Pioneer Historical Society,
derived directly from its parent organization, the Swedish
Pioneer Centennial Association, established to prepare for the
centenary celebration of Swedish immigration to the Middle
West in 1948. While it is true that the Society's interest was at
first largely focussed upon the early p e r i o d of Swedish
immigration, it always considered the entire history of migration
from Sweden and of the Swedish element in North America its
proper sphere. Yet its name continued to suggest a kind of
exclusive "old-timers" club, concerned only with early Swedish
pioneers in the rural Midwest and West.
The new name has a background of its own, going back nearly
a century. It was adopted already in 1889 by a group which
incorporated i n Chicago but never became active. It was used
again during its first two years, 1905-7, by what thereafter
became the Swedish Historical Society of America which lasted
down to 1934. In now renaming itself the Swedish-American
Historical Society, we thus renew an earlier tradition while
reconfirming to all concerned our long-standing commitment to
the entire field of Swedish North Atlantic migration.
And if those of us who have long been a part of the Society may
still think of ourselves as "The Pioneers," what harm in that?
235

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REPORT
T H E SOCIETY'S C H A N G E O F N A ME
H . A R N O L D BARTON
At its annual meeting on 9 April 1983, the Swedish Pioneer
Historical Society celebrated its thirty-fifth anniversary and
announced that its name would henceforward be the
S W E D I S H - A M E R I C A N HISTORICAL SOCIETY. This matter had long
been under consideration. In January 1982 the S w e d i s h P i o n e er
H i s t o r i c a l Q u a r t e r l y became the S w e d i s h - A m e r i c a n H i s t o r i c a l
Q u a r t e r l y , which has been well received. In September 1982,
the Board of Directors voted to propose to the membership an
amendment to the Society's constitution changing its name,
which was done by mail ballot prior to this year's annual
meeting.
One does not change an old and established name lightly, but
it had long been evident that ours did not adequately describe
our scope and purpose to the outside world, thus hampering our
effectiveness. The name, Swedish Pioneer Historical Society,
derived directly from its parent organization, the Swedish
Pioneer Centennial Association, established to prepare for the
centenary celebration of Swedish immigration to the Middle
West in 1948. While it is true that the Society's interest was at
first largely focussed upon the early p e r i o d of Swedish
immigration, it always considered the entire history of migration
from Sweden and of the Swedish element in North America its
proper sphere. Yet its name continued to suggest a kind of
exclusive "old-timers" club, concerned only with early Swedish
pioneers in the rural Midwest and West.
The new name has a background of its own, going back nearly
a century. It was adopted already in 1889 by a group which
incorporated i n Chicago but never became active. It was used
again during its first two years, 1905-7, by what thereafter
became the Swedish Historical Society of America which lasted
down to 1934. In now renaming itself the Swedish-American
Historical Society, we thus renew an earlier tradition while
reconfirming to all concerned our long-standing commitment to
the entire field of Swedish North Atlantic migration.
And if those of us who have long been a part of the Society may
still think of ourselves as "The Pioneers," what harm in that?
235